


dream another sunset with you

by captainsabs (juliansweigl)



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, I'm Sorry, This Is Sad, i don't know what this is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-20 09:52:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15531684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juliansweigl/pseuds/captainsabs
Summary: and please don't tell me that I'm dreaming, when all I ever wanted was to dream another sunset with you. If I roll over when it's over, I'll take this Cali sunrise with me, and wake up with the fondest memories.





	dream another sunset with you

**Author's Note:**

> i'm sad and depressed and have no idea what this is but please enjoy and don't hate me for writing something sad

Seven years in the making.

 

Four days of rushed prep to plan the trip.

 

Twelve forgotten items sitting on the kitchen island.

 

Beca’s old, beat up car that she inherited from her older cousin at the age of seventeen.

 

Chloe Beale by her side, ready to go.

 

This is it. Beca has always planned to take a cross-country trip at least once in her lifetime and she’s definitely not getting any younger now, she’s touching twenty-seven and this is the most financially stable she’s been since she made seventy dollars at her lemonade stand when she was seven.

 

“Are you sure you have everything?” Beca asks, standing on the driver’s side door, arms resting on the roof of the car as Chloe makes her way down the driveway towards their over-packed car. “I don’t want to be halfway up the highway when you realize you’ve left your hairbrush on your dresser.”

 

Chloe looks up from where she has one arm deep in her backpack, a small but sure smile on her face as she gives Beca a thumbs up with her free hand. “I have everything, stop worrying; you’re going to get wrinkles.”

 

Beca narrows her eyes but is satisfied with Chloe’s response anyway as she half jumps, half falls down into the car, pulling at her seatbelt when Chloe climbs into the car, tossing her backpack onto the one empty space that’s left on the backseat as she reaches for her seatbelt, it jamming twice before she’s able to pull it.

 

“Are you sure this car is going to get us to California?” Chloe asks warily, clicking the seatbelt into place as Beca starts up the engine, the car making a gruff, unhealthy sound as it does.

 

With a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips, Beca tips her sunglasses down her nose and glances at Chloe. “We’ll see.”

 

Two thousand, one hundred and seventy-five miles is what separate Chloe and Beca from their crummy apartment in downtown Atlanta and Los Angeles; with all the cities and sights in-between, out of the corner of her eye, Beca smiles at Chloe fiddling with the old buttons on the radio trying to find a station that isn’t just white noise and a whole bunch of static.

 

This was a trip that Beca planned in her room in college, a map of the States was stuck on her wall and she had ripped pieces of sticky notes and night after night she would arrange and rearrange the array of yellow, orange, pink and green sticky note pieces until she found her ideal cross-country trip, taking in every sight and every city that she was sure she wanted to visit – this trip covers barely half of those cities but Chloe has her heart set on California sunsets and Beca was never going to be the one to deny Chloe that wish – it’s worth it for the bursting grin that Chloe gets when she throws her arms around Beca and thanks her ten times over.

 

Beca never saw the appeal with California, more specifically Los Angeles, she wished more to visit every state in the South before heading over the East Coast but Chloe is adamant that she can make Beca fall in love with the West Coast over the next two weeks. Chloe talks about sunsets a lot, she talks about how the colors of the horizon falling into an array of purples, pinks and deep oranges causes her to be the most relaxed she’s ever been. Chloe talks about beaches and digging her feet so far into the sand that they’re submerged completely, she fawns over running into the water with her arms spread out wide – ignoring Beca’s comment about how she is going to look like a bird of prey and scare the children away.

 

Chloe finally finds a station that’s playing throwback hits from the nineties; the station is still a little wiry due to Beca’s car being older than the pair of them combined but Chloe’s jamming, playing air drums and singing along to the lyrics to Wannabe. Chloe leans into Beca’s side, batting her eyelashes at the brunette as she sings lowly. Beca laughs as she pushes Chloe’s face away from her, her grip on the steering wheel tightening as Chloe continues to sing, staring directly at Beca until the brunette’s resolve melts and she begins to mumble the lyrics under her breath, trying to keep her subtly tapping her fingers against the steering wheel away from Chloe – not wanting to give her the satisfaction of getting her involved in the jam session that she wants.

 

“ _Oh, what do you think about that. Now you know how I feel. Say, you can handle my love, are you for real_.” Chloe sings smoothly as she can, her shoulders moving side to side. “ _I won't be hasty; I'll give you a try_ _. If you really bug me then I'll say goodbye_.”

 

“ _Yo I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want_ _. So tell me what you want, what you really, really want_ ” Beca starts singing before breaking out into laughter whilst Chloe claps her hands together, a grin breaking out onto her face as she cheers having finally broken her down.

 

Two hours later and they have arrived in Birmingham; Alabama, their first stop on their tour and Chloe’s first need is coffee and now. Beca drives around, she drives past six or seven coffee shops but Chloe hates them all – Beca should have saw this coming, when it comes to coffee; Chloe Beale has two rules – it has to be local and it has to be iced. It shouldn’t be as hard as it is but Chloe doesn’t want to go into any coffee shop until she screams out stop causing Beca to slam on the brakes just meters from a crossing earning her a loud beep to her bumper from the car behind and a confused look from the woman and the two kids standing on the sidewalk.

 

“That one. I like that one.” Chloe stretches her arm out in front of Beca and points to the coffee shop on the opposite side of the road. “Let’s go there.”

 

“Whatever you want.” Beca sings albeit sarcastically as she quickly pulls into an empty space, it’s small and going to be impossible for her to get out of but Chloe’s already pulling her seatbelt off and climbing out of the car, already making her way into the coffee shop. Beca watches her go, unable to keep the small smile from tugging upwards at the corners of her lips.

 

“I got you your favorite.” Chloe beams up at her as soon as Beca enters the shop, holding out an Americano with two sugars and a dash of cream as she reaches for her own iced coffee sitting on the table.

 

Beca sinks into the couch beside Chloe, swinging one leg over the other and wrapping her free arm around the back of the couch as Chloe relaxes, tucking one leg under the other.

 

“Thank you.” Chloe whispers after a few sips of her coffee, avoiding Beca’s eyes and choosing to focus on the neon lights that adorn the wall in front of them. “For coming on this trip with me, I know you wanted to go to other places but I needed to go here, _now_.”

 

There’s a soft, scared underlay to Chloe’s voice that sparks concern in Beca and before she’s realized; Beca is sitting up with her hand on Chloe’s knee, forcing her best friend to look at her.

 

“There’s nobody else I’d rather do this trip with.” Chloe smiles, it’s sincere but it’s gone as soon as it has appeared and Chloe’s changing the subject to Louisiana and what they’re going to get up to in New Orleans.

 

 

XxX

 

 

New Orleans is an adventure that they are not ready for, from Bourbon Street to the French Quarter, to Jackson Square and the nightlife that includes endless cocktails washed down with local beer and a haunted tour that Chloe springs on Beca that includes tell tales of vampires that Beca has to bite the inside of her cheek to stop the urge to scoff at because the smile on Chloe’s face means more to her than a snarky comment.

 

It’s their last night in New Orleans and the pair have retreated back to their favorite bar from their first night; let it be known that Chloe Beale is somewhat of a lightweight when it comes to cocktail deals that are far too good to not be taken up on. It’s her second Long Island ice tea and her third Milk Punch that Beca finds disgusting but Chloe laughs it off and keeps drinking it, claiming that she would’ve enjoyed milk a lot more as a baby if her mom had put bourbon in it – Beca doesn’t hide the horrified expression on her face.

 

There’s a log fire at the back of the bar with three couches and they’re both laying back, a bottle of locally brewed beer rests against Beca’s thigh as Chloe stares at her from beside her, her near empty glass in her hand and the straw between her teeth. Chloe’s cheeks are pink from the alcohol and she’s swaying despite being sat down but when her free hand comes up and rests against Beca’s cheek; both of them are pretty sure they momentarily forget how to breathe.

 

“Your eyes are the prettiest I’ve ever seen.” Chloe mumbles, leaning closer until her forehead is pressed against Beca’s. “You’re the _prettiest_ I’ve ever seen.” Chloe whispers, eyes glancing between Beca’s eyes and her lips. “ _I’m so sorry_.” Chloe’s voice falters as she traces the pad of her thumb across Beca’s bottom lip.

 

The sound of Beca’s beer bottle falling and crashing against the hardwood floor is what causes the both of them to jolt back, their moment forgotten as Beca scrambles to pick up the pieces of glass; cutting her palm in the process. Chloe’s final words echo in her head, loud, like a rock band performing at an outdoor festival kind of loud as she cleans her hand up in the bathroom, hissing as the water causes the cut to sting even more. It’s the quiet moments that scare Beca, the moments when Chloe’s being secretive and saying things that cause alarm bells to ring loudly but she never elaborates, she just leaves them hanging. Beca leaves the bathroom and by the time she’s returned to the sofa, Chloe’s glass is empty and resting against the back of the couch and she’s sleeping soundly, her arms draped over the back.

 

 

XxX

 

 

Texas is next and it’s the state that Beca’s most excited for and Chloe has major heart-eyes for the childlike excitement that Beca has when they arrive in Houston.

 

Beca would never tell anybody except Chloe but when she was seven or eight she dreamt of being an astronaut so when Chloe surprises them with a tour of the Space Center, Beca nearly falls to her knees and cries; repeatedly asking Chloe whether it’s real and she’s actually going to live out a childhood dream to visit the center. Chloe finds it endearing but she would never tell Beca.

 

Imagine a kid in the candy store, now imagine a child with candy and a puppy, now imagine both of them combined multiplied by a thousand and you’ll realize just how excited Beca is to be when they enter the Houston Space Center. Chloe laughs as Beca circles her, spewing out space fact after space fact that she has memorized from childhood evenings sitting on top of the TV and watching as many documentaries on space that existed at the time. Beca grabs Chloe’s hand and drags her to the front of the group getting ready for the next tour. Chloe doesn’t really understand a lot about space, she remembers studying it during astronomy classes in school but she recalls barely a quarter of what she learnt but Beca’s so engrossed in the talking that it gives Chloe time to just watch how Beca’s eyes light up when she learns about the process of sending an astronaut into space.

 

On their final day in Texas, they go to Austin and more specifically they go to McKinney Falls State Park to which Chloe explains on the car ride over that she used to come here with her family when she was younger and they were visiting her Grandparents. She remembers it a lot bigger than it is when they arrive but still, Chloe pulls on a pair of old hiking boots that are far too big and covered in mud that’s so old even an industrial cleaning wouldn’t remove but when she pulls the waterproof poncho over her head and reaches for Beca’s hand, running ahead; Beca can’t help but smile and get wrapped up in a childhood adventure that she (wishes) she was a part of.

 

They sit on the edge of a rock forty-five minutes later, their hands still intertwined as they take in the midday view.

 

“I can see why you loved coming he-” Beca starts but she’s cut off by Chloe jumping up and running past her, her hair flying in the wind behind her as she reaches a trashcan and pukes. “Shit, fuck, Chloe!” Beca jumps to her feet and runs over to her, grabbing Chloe’s hair in one hand and resting her other hand on the small of Chloe’s back as she pukes everything up into the trashcan. “Are you okay?”

 

“Fine.” Chloe answers through gritted teeth as she lifts her head. “This isn’t anything new.”

 

They don’t leave Texas that night, they stay in a cheap hotel on the outskirts of the city and Chloe spends the majority of the night in the bathroom, the walls are thin and Beca can hear her puking from her bed, she tries to focus on the magazine she bought at the gas station but when it gets to two and a half hours later and Chloe still hasn’t returned to the room, Beca goes searching for her. Chloe’s on the floor, curled into herself and asleep, her arms are wrapped around her midriff and she’s pale.

 

Beca doesn’t want to wake her but she does.

 

Chloe’s eyes open and close and open and close again before she finally opens them completely, sitting up abruptly before hissing and pressing her hand to her side, breathing in and out deeply.

 

“You’re not okay.” Beca tells her, there’s a sharpness to her tone but it doesn’t deter Chloe.

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“- It could be appendicitis. That’s what you’re holding, right?” Beca moves Chloe’s hand out of the way but Chloe pushes Beca’s hand away and slaps it.

 

“It’s not!” Chloe bursts out, narrowing her eyes and scowling at Beca harshly until the brunette backs off to the other side of the bathroom. “I had my appendix removed when I was eight, this is nothing, it’s probably food poisoning. Leave me alone.”

 

Chloe doesn’t meet Beca’s eyes as she leaves the bathroom.

 

They don’t leave Texas for three days.

 

 

XxX

 

 

New Mexico and Arizona are a new adventure. They explore Bandelier National Monument for their first day in New Mexico and Chloe’s brighter than ever, as if the last four days in Austin hadn’t happened, she’s a shadow of the person who snapped at Beca with the theme song to the Golden Girls playing on the TV in the background. Chloe still hasn’t told Beca the true reason behind her turn for the worse and Beca pretends to go along with the food poisoning story.

 

In Arizona; Beca treats Chloe to her first ice hockey game, they go and see the Arizona Coyotes vs. Toronto Maple Leaves and Beca spends the entire game teaching Chloe the rules but by the end; Chloe is up and cheering with every fan around her, wearing a Coyotes jersey that is four sizes too big for her and she’s spilling some of the beer in her cup over Beca’s black jeans but the smile on Chloe’s face when the Coyotes put the puck in the goal just before the buzzer sounds is enough for Beca not to push down the warm feeling that fills her chest.

 

Beca knows she’ll never take the leap, she _won’t,_ she refuses to be the one to jeopardize their friendship with feelings but after the game and most of the cars have left the parking lot; Beca and Chloe are sitting on the hood of Beca’s car watching the stars. Chloe’s got a small smile on her face as she holds her near empty soda cup in her hand before she turns to face Beca.

 

“I think I like hockey.”

 

“I’ll have to take you to another game.” Beca smiles at her but it falls when the smile on Chloe’s face falls. “Okay, every time I mention anything past this trip you go like _this_.” Beca gestures to nothing with her hand. “What’s going on-?”

 

Chloe silences Beca with a kiss.

 

 

XxX

 

 

Beca and Chloe only have Las Vegas left before they arrive in California and Chloe is on a mission and Beca knows the exact mission that she’s on and it’s not to win at Blackjack. Chloe isn’t subtle when she mentions how she had a dream that she was married by an Elvis impersonator. A few hours later, Chloe stops at the jewelry store and points at a ring that costs more than an entire year of Beca’s rent. Two hours after that, Chloe slaps Beca’s arm as hard as she can when they pass the chapel but still, Beca pretends she doesn’t have a clue about what Chloe is gesturing towards.

 

“Do you know I’ve been trying to get you to marry me all day?” Chloe asks with a sigh as she sits on the floor beside a machine that Beca’s putting a quarter in.

 

Beca stifles her laughter as she pulls on the lever. “Really? I never would’ve guessed by the ring that cost more than my college tuition, the Elvis dream and the chapel.” Beca’s tone drips with sarcasm, causing Chloe’s frown to just get bigger. “I’m not marrying you.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Ask me again in two years.” Beca leans down and kisses Chloe quickly.

 

Chloe doesn’t let it go, in fact, for the next two days of their Vegas trip; Chloe keeps pestering Beca about marriage and Beca doesn’t let it show but it wears her down, they don’t get married, Beca’s not marrying her best friend who she has only kissed a handful of times but she does write up a marriage license on a napkin during dinner and presents her with a ring that she bought from the same jewelry shop just a couple of thousand dollars cheaper. Beca makes a scene of getting down on one knee, tipsy from the beer and presenting the marriage license to Chloe before sliding the ring onto her finger.

 

“Chloe Beale-” Beca laughs at how absurd she sounds. “- I will marry you, one day.”

 

 

XxX

 

 

They make it to California sixteen hours later and drive directly to Los Angeles where they’re going to finish their trip. Santa Monica Beach is their first stop and Chloe’s ideal location. The drive is quiet and Chloe’s twisting the ring on her finger, the pad of her thumb grazing the small jewel in the center.

 

“Stop the car.” Chloe coughs, breaking the ten minute long silence.

 

Beca obliges and pulls up but before she can ask Chloe what’s going on; Chloe is out of the car leaving Beca with no option but to follow her. Chloe grabs the blanket from the backseat and a book that Beca didn’t even know Chloe had packed. Chloe’s already sitting down on the blanket on the beach by the time that Beca locks her car and walks across the beach to join her. Beca tentatively sits down on the blanket beside Chloe.

 

“You were right.” Chloe sighs.

 

“I like where this is going.”

 

“No. You won’t.” Chloe shakes her head, dropping her gaze to her shoes, the book still sitting in her lap. “When you said every time you mention something past this trip that I go all _quiet_ and _weird_.”

 

Beca’s heart starts beating faster, harder, she’s pretty sure that everybody can hear it but it doesn’t deter Chloe who just takes Beca’s hand and turns to face her.

 

“I’m sick.”

 

“I know, food poisoning-”

 

“ _I’m dying._ ” Chloe states bluntly; in such a Chloe way that Beca has come accustomed to seeing, she states the words as though they’re something as simple as _I’m going to bed_.

 

Beca doesn’t believe her, not at first. The words ring in her ears, two words, two simple words that cause the crashing of the waves to match the way Beca feels her world crashing before her eyes. Chloe stares at Beca, her eyes glassy but she doesn’t cry, she just waits for Beca to react, to say anything but she can’t, Beca’s mouth feels dry and she feels like she’s choking on the sea air around them.

 

“I was fourteen when I first got diagnosed; it wasn’t common for someone my age to be diagnosed with this form of kidney cancer but it happens and it turns out I was just one of the unlucky ones. I’ve been fighting this on and off for the last fifteen years but the last time it came back, two years ago, I’m done fighting it.” Chloe sighs tiredly, brushing her hair out of her face. “I stopped my treatment four months ago, I’ve got weeks, if not days-”

 

“Stop!” Beca shouts, slamming her hand into the sand. “I don’t want to hear this! Shut up!”

 

“- This trip was my last chance to see places I’ve never seen, I’m sorry.”

 

It all starts to make sense. The sudden rush from Chloe to get this trip up and running, the quiet moments, the secrecy in the nights, the turn for the worse in Austin, the days that Chloe would be out of the city for hours at a time, why she suddenly moved back in with her parents after years of living on her own. Little by little, puzzle pieces of the last nine years of their life start to fit into a jigsaw puzzle that Beca doesn’t want to finish.

 

“Vegas.”

 

“What can I say?” Chloe laughs sadly, holding her hands up in her defense. “I wanted to be married before you know, I kick the bucket?”

 

“Okay.” Beca nods, already getting to her feet and extending her hand to Chloe. “Let’s get married.”

 

Chloe’s confusion is evident but Beca’s sure, she keeps her hand out until Chloe takes it and she helps her up. It’s seven in the morning but Beca’s determined to find somewhere, someone, something that will help her marry her best friend. She’s grateful for Chloe’s desire to be married because just for a split second she forgets about the reason she’s going to marry her. Beca came up with a number of reasons as to why Chloe was acting secretive and why she was really sick but no amount of reasons ever came close to the cold, hard truth.

 

Chloe falls asleep during the car ride and Beca panics, dropping one hand from the steering wheel and pressing her fingers against the inside of Chloe’s wrist, she feels sick until she feels Chloe’s pulse against her fingers.

 

Beca doesn’t cry, she can’t, she feels sick to her stomach at the confession but she can’t cry.

 

It takes three hours but Beca stumbles across a small chapel and she rushes out of the car, her door still open and the engine running as she bangs on the door, it’s raining lightly but she bangs until her hand hurts and the door opens revealing an elderly man.

 

“Can I help you?” He asks, kindly stepping aside as a woman, Beca assumes his wife joins him.

 

“I need you to marry me and her, now. Please.” Beca swings her arm behind her and points at her car. “Please, I’m begging you.”

 

The man and his wife exchange a glance and Beca feels like their silent conversation goes on for months before the man nods.

 

It’s not the wedding that Chloe dreams of, she’s wearing black jeans and a maroon colored sweatshirt with a beanie and beat up sneakers but she walks down the aisle smiling at Beca and reaching out to take hold of her hand.

 

“I love you.” Beca tells her the minute that Chloe reaches her.

 

“I should hope so.” Chloe jokes. “I’m not marrying you if you don’t love me.”

 

“You’re making jokes, _now_?” Beca tries to feign her annoyance but the smile tugs upwards at the corners of her lips when Chloe’s lips press against her cheek.

 

Chloe stumbles and cries through her vows whilst Beca makes a few dumb jokes that only add to Chloe’s tears through her laughter. They leave the chapel hand in hand, married but it feels bittersweet with the both of them still reeling from Chloe’s confession just hours earlier.

 

 

Four days after they return to Atlanta from their trip, Chloe’s last breath is filled with _I love you’s_ to the ones who care about her most. The funeral is happy, filled with bright colored clothes, a karaoke machine that after a few drinks is in full use, family and friends joined as one as they talk about their favorite memories and Beca sitting alone, a Milk Punch half drunk on the table in front of her as she twists the wedding ring on her finger. Beca’s chest is heavy as a single tear falls down her cheek and lands on the oak table before another and another, the memory of Chloe jumping up and down celebrating the Coyotes winning goal and the way her hand felt pressed against her cheek in New Orleans, her childlike reliving of memories in Austin and the calm expression on her face when she told Beca the truth are still clear as day in her mind and it hurts, it’s so fucking painful that she can’t breathe.

 

Beca remembers she was only married for eight days but she looks back on the last nine years and she realizes she doesn’t just have a two week trip to look back on, she has memories that will last a lifetime and it’s comforting, it doesn’t help right away but she’s sure it will.

 

Chloe's book from California sits on the chair beside Beca and she picks it up, laying it on the table in front of her and opening the first page, a warmth fills her chest as she looks at the photographs of their memories together from the last nine years. There are photos of Beca giving the camera the finger as her bright blue toothbrush hangs out of her mouth, there are nicer ones when they're dressed up and standing outside restaurants or the one where they're intertwined at Aubrey's wedding. There are Christmas, Halloween and Fourth of July themed photographs that show Beca how much she's aged in nine years. The last two pages are empty but there's a note that Beca never noticed the first time around.

 

**_There are twelve more pages left in this book, make memories for me and tell me about them when I see you again._ **

_And please don't tell me that I'm dreaming, when all I ever wanted was to dream another sunset with you. If I roll over when it's over, I'll take this Cali sunrise with me, and wake up with the fondest memories._


End file.
